Chapter 170 - 128: Debauchery and Blissful Oblivion

Chapter 170: Chapter 128: Debauchery and Blissful Oblivion

Lian’s days in Yusofa were marked by wanton indulgence; so engrossed in pleasure, he seemed to have forgotten everything else.

Mary approached him several more times, but on each occasion, Lian was dead drunk when he received her. Getting any more inside information about Blue Moon Territory from him seemed all but impossible.

This led to endless complaints from Mary’s army, especially from the nobles in her retinue, led by Minister of War Sting Litt.

Because Lian Moria was simply too outrageous.

He seemed completely incapable of sharing the fun; he bought out the entire establishment every time, and the girls of the pleasure house could only attend to him.

Worse, when he drank, he had a habit of throwing his wealth around, casually bestowing money and land upon the girls.

Every day, young women bedecked in jewels would leave the pleasure house, their old lives behind. Most chose to stay by Lian’s side as Maids or were sent to maintain his vacant manors and properties.

All that was left were the older, less attractive women, whom Sting Litt wouldn’t even deign to look at. He felt as if Lian Moria had made off with every decent prostitute in Yusofa.

’How can he be so arrogant? So tyrannical?’

Sting Litt furiously reported this to Mary, but she paid it no mind.

In her eyes, ’if Lian Moria was truly this sort of man, it would save her a lot of trouble.’

’But if he wasn’t, then she was interested to see just how long he could keep up the facade.’

’Besides, many of those prostitutes were Spies she had planted herself. Them following Lian Moria was the perfect opportunity to have eyes and ears right next to him.’

’The intelligence these Spies reported could be used to corroborate the information from Nancy Scalia. If their reports didn’t align, it would mean something was wrong with Nancy.’

Though Mary trusted the Heartless, she didn’t trust any person.

Not even her former confidante, Nancy Scalia, the Deacon of the Rose Thorn, was worthy of her complete trust.

Meanwhile, women’s screams echoed from Lian’s bedroom every night. Yet, any woman who served him would become utterly devoted to him.

To outsiders, this was simply Lian working his unique masculine Charm. In reality, he was performing a "Cleaning Entry" and brainwashing these Heartless, freeing them from their bondage to Mary and making them completely loyal to him.

Furthermore, Lian discovered that most of the girls in Yusofa’s pleasure houses were pitiful souls forced into prostitution. Their husbands and children had been brutally slaughtered by the Rose Army, and they themselves had been sent to these establishments to become playthings for the Guards.

Several of these large pleasure houses were, in fact, properties under Lian’s own name. He decided to play along, using the women to cultivate his image as a degenerate noble. He then gifted them wealth and land, allowing them to leave the establishments and become his Maids.

Mary didn’t let this opportunity pass, either. She had people spread tales of Lian’s outrageous antics in Yusofa all the way back to Blue Moon Territory, hoping to drive a wedge between him and Catherine.

Soon, salacious news about Lord Lian supposedly hogging all the prostitutes in Yusofa spread through the streets and alleys of Blue Moon Territory.

The nobles began to panic.

They feared Lian would betray the alliance, abandon Catherine, and withdraw his support for Blue Moon Territory.

If Lian betrayed them, it meant they would lose the support of the Moria and the Simmons family. The nobles were on pins and needles. Finally unable to bear it any longer, they went to Catherine as a group, hoping their Lord could resolve this thorny issue.

「In the high council chamber of Blue Moon Castle.」

The worried noble vassals all voiced their opinions.

"Lady Catherine, have you heard about Lord Lian? He hasn’t been negotiating with Lady Mary over the terms for Yusofa. Instead, he’s indulging in debauchery day after day, frequenting pleasure houses and the like, and has even made prostitutes his Maids."

"Yes, Lady Catherine. Lian Moria has taken Nancy Scalia as his mistress, and Nancy Scalia is one of Lady Mary’s trusted confidantes. This can only mean one thing: Lian Moria has betrayed you."

"Lady Catherine, you must find a way to win back Lord Lian Moria’s heart! We cannot lose his support. Many of his troops are still stationed in Blue Moon Territory. If he betrays you, that army will no longer be a shield protecting our land, but a blade pointed at its heart."

"Lady Catherine, you must find another source of support besides Lord Lian Moria. Perhaps you should consider breaking off your engagement. The Simmons family recently made friendly overtures toward us. If you were to marry Lord Val Simmons, this problem could be solved once and for all."

"The entire Empire knows Lady Catherine is engaged to Lord Lian! How can she possibly call off the engagement now to marry Lord Val Simmons? Does Lady Catherine’s honor as a noble mean nothing? Our top priority is to appease Lord Lian Moria. I suggest Your Ladyship send some beautiful Maids to his side to win back his heart. It’s not as if Blue Moon Territory lacks for beautiful women."

"No! How can someone from the Jackson Family stoop so low? I say Lady Catherine should immediately announce the annulment of her engagement to Lian Moria and align with Lord Simmons. Given Lady Catherine’s current standing, I’m certain the Simmons family would be eager for a marriage alliance."

The nobles, divided in their opinions, began to argue amongst themselves, and the council chamber descended into a heated uproar.